The Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF), BBC Gaeilge and TG4 have announced a new funding initiative for feature length Irish language drama.

Ideas are sought for a contemporary drama set in an environment where Irish would be spoken naturally. The drama should have both a national and international appeal.

The drama fund will initially support the development of two projects with one of those projects then being supported for production with funding appropriate to a low budget feature film. The aim of the scheme is to support and develop the Irish language drama sector in Northern Ireland, enabling the production of entertaining content with international appeal.

The feature film would broadcast on both TG4 and BBC NI and would also have a theatrical release.

The development budget available is £22,500 per project and the production budget will be approximately £350,000.

Development applications will be accepted from individuals or production companies, based in Northern Ireland, but in all cases the proposed writer and director must be fluent Irish speakers.

The development period will also include support from an experienced script editor and may include other forms of support where applicable.

To apply for development funding please submit the following documents in Irish: